Ireland

Comprising Counties Cork and Kerry, this postcard-perfect region is lush with verdant hillsides, craggy coastlines and rustic roads. The Ring of Kerry is a scenic route set atop cliffs that overlook the Atlantic, circuiting the Iveragh Peninsula from Killarney to Dingle Bay and beyond.

In recent years, Ireland has seen a resurgence in back-to-basics slow-food, celebrating organic, sustainable ingredients brought to life through skilled, thoughtful preparations. Cork’s award-winning Ballymaloe Cookery School is a champion of the slow-food philosophy and on your visit you will explore the extensive organic garden, before grabbing an apron to prepare and enjoy a three-course lunch in the kitchen.

Introduced to Ireland in the 12th century, falconry remains an enduring legacy of the island’s Anglo-Norman forebears, a noble pursuit still thriving in manor houses across the nation. Under the tutelage of a local expert falconer, introduce your family to this time-honoured tradition on the sprawling grounds of an historic Irish estate.

The newly vibrant capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast, has shaken off its troubled past to emerge as one of northern Europe’s most happening cities. Stroll the cobbled streets of the buzzing Cathedral Quarter, lament the infamous Belfast-built liner at the Titanic museum and admire glorious Victorian architecture.

Reaching from the shores of Country Antrim into the rolling seas of the North Atlantic, the tightly packed, hexagonal basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway stretch seaward toward the distant Scottish coast. Take in the majesty of this geological wonder as your guide recalls the legend of Finn McCool, a mythical giant long intertwined with the Causeway’s folklore.

In County Kerry, at the foot of Macgillycuddy’s Reeks — the highest mountain range in Ireland — lies the 26,000-acre Killarney National Park. Visit Ross Castle or Muckross House and Gardens, or venture forth in search of the region’s only wild herd of native red deer, amid soaring mountains and ancient oak woods.